Oct 12, 2023
Mahmoud Kahlil, who was invited to a Parliament Hill reception just last year, pledged fealty to Hamas at a rally in Calgary
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The All Out For Palestine rallies that appeared in every major Canadian city over the Thanksgiving weekend were without precedent. Never in Canadian history has the country seen coordinated, multi-city demonstrations convened for the singular purpose of celebrating an act of terror against civilians.
But the only thing materially new about the rallies is their scale and the unambiguous horror of the atrocities being celebrated. For years, Canada has featured no shortage of rallies cheering terror or groups openly calling for the violent destruction of Israel. In some cases, the figures at the centre of it all have even been feted on Parliament Hill.
“We are your men, Mohammad Deif!” went a celebratory chant repeated by a crowd of several dozen outside Calgary City Hall on Monday.
Deif is the Hamas commander credited as the mastermind of the Oct. 7 terror attacks against Israel. The chant was led by Mahmoud Kahlil, a Palestinian activist who has previously been at the head of marches in Montreal explicitly calling for Israel’s end.